Disney continues its assault on the theatrical box office with another franchise blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales [PIRT5]. Johnny Depp [JDEPP] reprises his iconic role of Jack Sparrow for a fifth time to face a new villain played by Javier Bardem [JBARD]. Brenton Thwaites [BTHWA] joins the adventure as the son of Orlando Bloom’s [OBLOO] Will Turner, who was last seen in 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The last installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opened with $90.1 million on a 3-day weekend in May 2011. However, franchise fatigue had already set in. No one really asked for another movie except the Disney folks counting the money. Dead Men Tell No Tales has earned negative reviews on par with On Stranger Tides. Depp himself has incurred negative publicity for his personal life, which has dented his recent box office draw. Alice Through the Looking Glass debuted with just $33.5 million over Memorial Day weekend last year. Sailing into 4276 theaters, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales may plunder $81 million over the 4-day weekend.
After more than a decade in development, Baywatch [BAYWT] has finally reaches shore. The popular ‘90s TV series has been turned into an R-rated action comedy in the vein of 21 Jump Street. Dwayne Johnson [TROCK] and Zac Efron [ZEFRO] star as lifeguards who are more interested in fighting crime. Johnson’s last comedy, the PG-13 rated Central Intelligence opened with $35.5 million. Despite poor reviews from critics, Baywatch should bring out nostalgic fans of slow-motion beach running. Paramount moved up the release of Baywatch a day to Thursday and earned $1.3 million Wednesday night. Diving into 3647 theaters, Baywatch could surface with $38 million from Friday to Monday.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 [GOTG2] looks to add another $23 million during its fourth weekend, which should be enough to surpass the $333 million total box office of the first Guardians of the Galaxy.
Alien: Covenant [PRME2] failed to improve on Prometheus, which tumbled 59% in its second weekend. The sci-fi sequel may settle for $18 million over the long weekend.
Female-target films tend to have legs. Everything, Everything [EVRYT] should be able to score another $8 million over the holiday weekend.
That’s the whisper on the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): PIRT5, JDEPP, JBARD, BTHWA, OBLOO, BAYWT, TROCK, ZEFRO, GOTG2, PRME2, EVRYT